Here, you can find all the available roles on the platform as well as information about the DSPs’ roles requirements and some extra useful information.
Some other relevant information about roles
DSPs requirements
- Primary Artist
The name(s) of the principal artist(s) or band(s) who participate in the release. This is the only role strictly mandatory in every release.- Using “Various Artists” as Primary Artist. When a release includes four or more Primary Artists, the Primary Artist at the album level should be marked as “Various Artists”. However, each artist must always be independently identified on their respective tracks. The translation of “Various Artists” is accepted, but only if it is consistent with the language of the content.
- When not to use “Various Artists”. It should never be used when a release has less than four primary artists; it cannot be used either at the track level or to group several featuring artists. This tag can not be used at the track level and can not be combined with other primary artists’ names. It is generally preferable to avoid the use of too many primary artists’ names at this level. Variations or abbreviations of “Various Artists” (i.e.: “V/A”, “VA”, “Various”, “Various Artist”) must be avoided. Please, do not confuse the role with “performer” or “featuring artist”.
- Performer
The singer(s) and/or the instrumentalist(s) who have participated in the recording of the release of each track. This role should be assigned to the people who interpret the music heard on each track or in the entire release. Instruments per se should never be mentioned in the metadata. Nevertheless, in jazz and classical releases, the performers can be named with their respective instruments on the cover art. - Producer
This is the person that manages the sound recording. Frequently can be the person who leads to achieving the main concept for the production. This role can be displayed on the cover art as long as it is justified all along with the release. - Remixer
This is the role to be assigned to the person who re-edits or adds new elements to a pre-existing recording. Its use demands that the term “Remix” is used in the version field at the track and/or album level – depending on if it is a one-track single or not. If the remixer is known, the name must be included in the version field along with the expression “Remix” (i.e.: “Flume Remix”). Please note that a remixer is not the same as the mixer of an album; in case the mixer or sound engineer must be included as a producer instead. For more information on the correct licensing of remixes, check our “Licensing requirements” block.- When remixing other artists’ work. The creation of a remix implies the reuse of previous material whose authorship belongs to other artists, publishers, or other agents. Therefore, it will be necessary to provide the corresponding licenses to use this content. Please, check the “Licensing” section of this document for further information.
- When remixing original work. When the release is a remix from a previous original release it will not be necessary to provide the licenses to use. In addition, the new release should be distinguished from the previous one by using the term “Remix” in the version field.
- Composer
This role should be assigned to the people who have composed the music on the track or the album. In regular releases it can only be used at the track level, when the release is a single, the role must be reflected at the track and album level. Since every time more channels are requesting this role as mandatory for distributing content to their platforms we recommend adding it as much as possible, especially when the release is a cover or version from another artist, in which case its use will be completely mandatory – for more information about it, please, check the “Licensing requirements” block in this article.- Composer role in Classical Music releases. Its use at track and album levels will be mandatory. Also, if there are more than four composers throughout the release, the only composer appearing at the album level must be “Various Composers” – please, limit the use of this term strictly to this genre. Check the guidelines for Classical Music in this article for further information.
- Unknown composers. In versions of popular tracks whose author or composer is unknown or anonymous, the composer must always be “Popular”, “Unknown” or similar.
- Lyricist
The people who have made the lyrics of the track.- When to use the “Lyricist” role. As we said with composers, it is highly advisable to use it whenever possible since every time more channels are requesting this role as mandatory for publishing content – especially when the song is based on a literary text. In those cases, it should be assigned to the original writer of the latter.
- When not to use the “Lyricist” role. If the song has no actual spoken words – that means instrumental tracks or with voices that sing no words. In those cases, the track must be marked as “no linguistic content” in the language field.
- Publisher
This role should be assigned to the entity that owns all distribution rights of the release. - Featuring
The artists who accompany the primary artist in the release. Both primaries and featuring artists compose the “Display artists”, which are the main highlighted roles at a track level.- Attributions. The use of this role does not imply that the featuring artist has participated as a composer, which means that its competence develops at a secondary level.
- Conditionals. If the featuring artists appear in the cover art, they must figure at the album level. If it is a single, it should be at the album and track level. The featuring artist, if displayed on the cover art, must always be accompanying the primary artist.
- Album conditional. If there are featured artists at the album level, they must be reflected on each track. In the case of being more than one featuring artist at the album level, each featuring artist must appear in the corresponding track instead of appearing at the album level.
- With
This role has the same value as the featuring artist role. In this way, either of the roles can be chosen to go along with the primary artist.- When not to use the “With” role. In popular music (nonclassical), this role can not be used to add the music band of the primary artist who accompanies the recording of the release. E.g. “Glenn Miller with His Big Band”.
- Conductor
The person who leads, commands, or conducts an Orchestra, is also known as the director. This role should be used exclusively in classical music releases. It is important to emphasize that the conductor is not the person who artistically directs the production. - Arranger
The person who has modified an original song. If their role is developed on a third-party’s composition, the track will be considered as a substantial modification of original work, for which explicit documental permission must be obtained. Please, check the “Licensing” block in this article for more information. - Orchestra
The ensemble that participates in the recordings and/or performances (i.e.: London Symphonic Orchestra). This role should be used only in releases with Classical Music. In addition, the role of Orchestra and Primary Artist can be assigned to the same ensemble as long as the primary artist of the release is actually the orchestra. - Actor
This role is exclusively for musical theatre music or opera music. It is used to mention the actors and actresses who have participated in the recording of a release. Their mention must be done at each track level. Please, avoid its use for references to videoclips or similar AV formats.
Some other relevant information about roles
- Artist name choice. Before distributing an album, make sure that no other artists are currently using the same artist or band name (similar or identical) since this might cause conflicts in the channels and your albums may be combined under the catalogue of the other artist with a similar artist or band name, or vice-versa. If that happens, please contact our Support team.
- Incompatible roles. All the roles can be mixed with each other as long as they make sense. However, primary and featuring artists cannot be performers – and vice versa.
- Use of special characters and particular naming. Mixed alphabets, full lowercase or capitals, and special characters are generally discouraged. Our team might require social media verification in order to allow it.
- Compound artist. Two or more performers or groups in the same artist field are considered compound artists. However, artists who are generally listed together as a band (their names make the artist’s name) are not considered compound artists and can be listed together (i.e.: Simon & Garfunkel, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, etc.). If this is not the case, and there is more than one performing artist, each artist must be listed individually and assigned as primary.
- Generic artists. Generic artists such as “Chorus”, “Orchestra”, “Singer” or “Band” are not accepted under any circumstance.
- Original artist name in the artist field. For karaoke, tribute, orgel, parody, covers, ringtones, and other similar formats, the original artist’s name must be avoided as a primary. The authors of the original composition (composers and lyricists) must be included with their full legal names. Please, do not use artistic names or brand names.